Annie's Van-Ventures

Van, Sweet Van

Well, I have just a few days left in Spain and then I’ll be flying home and back to my sweet little van. I’ll tell you - I cannot wait!

I’ve been living in hostels and albergues for the last five or six weeks and though all the spaces are small, it’s funny to hear myself say it, but they’re not small enough. I miss my little cocoon.

I am not sure yet what my plan will be when I get home. I know that there’s a meet up in Tillamook along the coast. I do need to check on my mother. I need to have a big yard sale and get rid of a garage full of stuff I’ve accumulated. At some point I need to decide where I will spend the rest of the summer. I’m hoping to hook up with Merle or Vern or some of my other van friends before hitting south for the winter again.

I let my friend Joe borrow my van while I was in Spain so he could take a trip to the coast. But he turned around and drove it back home after the traction light went on three times. This seems to be a major issue with Toyota sienna van and after doing some research online I think it could be a matter of having the rack and pinion replaced. If that’s the case it could be anywhere from $200-$1000. But it will make the van much safer to drive. Right now, I’m worried about the van putting its own brakes on, which it has done twice. And I could see how that could cause a major accident if it happened on the freeway and I was rear ended. I was surprised to hear people say that Toyota won’t accept responsibility for this issue even though there are hundreds of complaints online for the exact same issue. I suppose if someone is killed as a result it in there could be a big lawsuit and at that point maybe they will accept responsibility. Anyway, I know that I will have a van repair expense upon returning and I’m happy that I have some energency cash set aside.

There are two things that I would love to do this year. One is to drive old route 66 as much as possible. The other is to take the LDS tour of Mormon sites. When I get done will depend on my mother’s health more than anything else and whether or not I need to stay with her.

So that’s it for now. I’m looking forward to being home and back in the van and will catch up when I get there.

Happy trails!

Annie

Locking Gas Cap? Not!

So the neighborhood where I own a home in Portland, Oregon has a gmail thread where we share information about what's going on - good and bad - and in the past few years, the petty crime rate has really done an upswing. Car break-ins, house break-ins, mail and packages stolen off the front porch, strange people in back yards, siphoned gas, etc. Last week they held a meeting and came up with ideas to thwart crime, and one of the things they suggested was that we buy a locking gas cap.

So I did.

I bought this Stant 10504 Locking Fuel Cap and I put it on my van.

This morning I needed to get gas. So I used the key that came with the locking gas cap and guess what? The cap wouldn't come off. I read and re-read the instructions. I tried both keys. I had my ex, Joe, try the keys.

The cap would not come off.

I called Amazon, who gave me the number for Stant's customer service.

I called Stant's Customer service, and they connected me with tech support.

Tech support listened to my story then told me to get a pair of channel locks, grap the handle of the Fuel Cap, and pull downwards.

With very little pressure, the whole damned front of the "locking" cap popped off.

All I then had to do was twist off the rest.

And THAT is supposed to thwart a gasoline thief?

What a joke!

My advice is don't waste your money.

Thule to the Rescue

I've been trying to decide if I will keep my van another year, or if I'll invest in an RV that I can stand in.

After many sleepless nights, lots of research and soul-searching, I've decided to keep the van at least one more season. I want to be able to do Route 66 and the gas mileage in my Toyota Sienna is too good to give up for that trip.

So the main problem I had besides not being able to stand up in the van was shuffling around needed items when it was time to sleep.

I'm a bit of a minimalist and I like my space clear and clean. So I began looking at Car Top carriers.

I actually bought a 15 cubic foot luggage travel bag on Amazon for $44.99 last month and used it to carry extra items from Desert Hot Springs to my mother's house about 5 hours away.

I hate it.
I absolutely hate it.
It worked fine - kept everything clean and dry.
It's very tough and looks like it will last a long time.
However, for ME, because I'm so short, it was a bugger to load and unload, needing many straps to attach it to my rack and more straps to tie it down. It just wasn't as convenient as I wanted it to be.
So.. that's up for sale if anybody's interested in an inexpensive fix until they can afford a hard shell car top carrier.
It's new, only used for one trip, and I'd sell it for $25.

Next, I considered using an old hard shell carrier I have.
However, it's not as sturdy as I'd like, though it's lasted many years, and it does not lock. You CAN use padlocks to lock it up.
It opens from the side and has two places for padlocks.
The front and back snap closed, and I've used tie down straps the last few years to keep it from unsnapping.
And again, that's up for sale if you're in the Portland, OR area next month.
I'd like maybe $25 for that.
It looks very much like this one and it is in very good condition:

I finally decided I wanted to invest in a Thule Carrier.
They're bloody expensive, but of excellent quality.
They're SIMPLE to install - the clips fit over your existing rack, and you simply turn wheels above each clip (INSIDE the carrier) to tighten them on.

These clips tighten to your rack to hold the Thule on.

Inside, you turn these knobs to tighten the clips on the bottom. The straps are optional and included to tie down your load inside so it doesn't shift around.

The Thule I purchased will open from either side, passenger or driver.
It has latches on both sides and comes with 2 keys.

Latches on both sides.

My Thule is not shiny; it has a matte diamond finish and I love it.

Diamond finish

Easy to load.

So far, I've loaded it with my Arc Haus, my shade cloth, my tent poles, my suitcase, my watercolor easel, and there's LOTS of room for more! I plan on buying an extending ladder so I can set up my shade cloth over the top of the Thule, which will insulate it and the van from the heat. I'll post photos when I do that so you can see how I do it.

Price of this Thule Cargo Carrier was $549.99 minus my $20 REI Dividend.

At $530, it was a hell of a lot cheaper than a new RV!

I'm stoked!

And I"m organized!

And THAT makes me very happy!

Here is a photo of my new Thule Cargo Carrier on my 2002 Toyota Sienna Van.

Hello Arc Haus!

I've been trying to decide if I'll keep the Toyota Sienna

another season or purchase a larger RV.

One issue is having a place where I can stand up and cook

out of the wind and rain and sun.

Another is a place to shower.

I've been looking at Roadtreks and similar small van-type RVs,

but holy hell,

the prices are NUTS!

So I thought I'd try this tent called the Arc Haus.

If you order it on Amazon.com, it comes with THREE zip-on doors.

Two can be used to make it a stand-alone tent that I can just zip up

if I want to go to town.

The other "door" is actually a sleeve

that fits around the back end of the van, where my kitchen is.

It can go over or under the hatch,

depending on the size of the van, and depending on how high

you make the tent (that part is adjustable).

The tent arrived yesterday and I set it up.

I found both things I loved

and things that weren't so great

and thought I'd share those on a blog.

The tent arrives in two bags.

One holds the tent and one holds the extra sleeve

that wraps around the back of the van.

Opening the tent bag, I find the following:

Green bag with tent stakes and black straps

ArcHaus Tent and Tent Poles

At first I was confused about why they sent these, but later I was happy!

Included was a link to a set-up video, which is worth watching

Instructions for setting up tent is sewn inside the bag

Pretty simple to understand

Also included was a list of pieces

Setting this up the first time was no more awkward

than setting up any new tent for the first time,

and I didn't really know what I was doing.

The first thing to lay out are these two side bars.

One goes on one side of the van, and the other goes on the other side.

I think after doing this, it's best to lay them out

farther apart than you think they should be,

and then draw them in to fit your van once the entire tent is set up.

For one thing, that makes it easier to get the cover on the frame

because the frame will be shorter.

Once you lay out the side bars,

you snap on the straps which form the base of the frame.

There is a place for this, designated by rubber washers.

After you put those straps on evenly,

then you add the two LONG poles that form the two arches.

THEN, you attach the 5 cross poles,

which come with the same snaps shown on the straps above.

All of the poles are shock corded.

Now it's time to put on the cover,

and here is where it would be nice to have two people.

But I didn't,

and holy hell it was awkward.

What I learned:

Take the two doors completely OFF

before you put the cover on.

They're easily zipped on once the thing is set up.

When I tried putting the cover on alone with the doors attached,

I had to bend the frame in order to get the cover up there.

Doing that, I broke two of the clips straight away.

And now I understood why they included

a package of the more heavy duty clips!

I removed the cheap clips,

inserted the new heavy ones,

and was good to go.

What I learned:

The new heavy clips fit INSIDE the ends of the pole.

Break each pole down, put in the clip,

then holding the pole close to the clip,

put the clip on the ground, and use your body weight,

to push those clips all the way in.

It's difficult.

Be careful not to break the pole or the clip.

If I had to do this again,

I'd grease the clips first with something slippery

so they'd slide in easier.

Even water might work.

The cheap clips broke. Luckily they included more heavy duty ones.

Once the frame was up again,

and the doors were removed from the cover,

I found it easiest to put the cover in through the CENTER,

then lay it out to each side.

What I learned:

Next time, I'll adjust the bottom straps so the whole thing

is lower, closer to the ground,

then adjust the straps to make it taller

once the cover is on.

The cover went on pretty easy, though.

Each corner of the cover has a tough sewn in place

that you slip over the frame.

Then you wrap the bottom around the side poles,

and snap them in.

On the corners,

you wrap a cord from the outside to the inside,

and there is a hook that holds it.

Then there is a heavy elastic shock cord

that you pull to tighten the whole thing.

There's no way that cover is coming off!

This is how you adjust the WIDTH of the ArcHaus, by tightening these straps. Also, you can see the cord and hook that also holds the cover on the frame.

Below is the ArcHaus pulled up to my van

with the back hatch open.

What I learned:

I will put some cord or elastic to hold the hatch down a bit

so it doesn't rub against the top of the ArcHause

and tear the fabric. The door is just a wee bit too tall

when it's open all the way.

The ArcHaus COULD be put on

with the door OVER the Haus,

but I wanted to be able to close the hatch at night

if it was cold.

In the hotter weather,

it might work fine to put the open hatch

over the top.

Then you'd be enclose just like you'd be in a tent.

Here is what the sides look without the door

that snugs around the back.

As you can see, there's a space,

and maybe in good weather,

you wouldn't need to put the back piece on,

though I think it would keep it from blowing in a wind.

Here is what it looks like with the tailgate piece zipped on.

It just zips right on, easily.

Hatch open

As you can see, it goes all the way around.

It's an elasticized opening and even covers the bottom

underneath the van.

Hatch closed

On the outside, are clips you can put through your tires or ???

to hold the tent tightly to your rig.

The straps and clips seem quite sturdy.

Strap clipped around my tire.

There are also straps at the top side, which for me,

strapped nicely to the rack on my van.

Strapped to the rack

I forgot to take a photo of the door, so here is one I found online.

Two of the doors I got look like this one.

You can zip them up tight, or open the screened windows to get airflow.

At night, if the weather is warm,

I can leave the hatch open with these shut,

just like I was camping in a tent.

And if I want to go somewhere,

I don't have to pack up my table and stove and chair.

I can just put the extra door on, and leave the tent standing.

Plenty of room inside for my table, stove, chair, and other storage.

You can use a tarp, as in the photo above, for the floor.

Or if you have a lot of cash,

you can actually buy a screened insert

that has a floor,

but for me, that's too much to carry around.

Looking out the screened window.

Once I had it up,

I loved it!

Taking the ArcHause down was simple.

I just unclipped all the clips,

slipped it off the back end,

then unzipped both doors.

I unhooked the cover from the frame,

slid it off and rolled it up.

Everything fit nicely into the sturdy carrying bag,

which has an extra zipper to expand the bag,

for easy repacking.

I managed to get everything into the carrying bag

without a lot of effort.

That was a plus, because as you know

if you tent camp,

getting those things back into the bag

can be a real pain in the butt.

What I learned: It's easier to repack if you FOLD it rather than roll it.

FOLD each piece, including the doors,

and they all stack in there nicely.

I put the poles in their bag on top.

For those of you who would rather fit the ArcHaus

to the side door, it can be done.

And there is a special ArcHaus

made just for taller rigs.

They even make one that fits on a trailer.

So that's it.

All in all I think I'll be very happy with this ArcHaus.

It remains to be seen how it will hold up

in the winds of Quartzsite,

but there are tie-downs

and I think it it's well-staked, it should be fine.

Negatives:

There are only a couple of negatives,

and for me they weren't deal-breakers.

1) The cheap clips that broke. Luckily, they included heavy duty clips and those appear to hold up fine.

2) Not so easy to set up with one person, but that could be just because I'd never done it before. I expect the next time to be a lot easier.

Positives:

1) I can cook and sit out of the wind, rain, sun.

2) I don't have to leave my table, stove, and propane out when I go to town.

3) I can leave the hatch open in hot weather and not worry about bugs
4) I can SHOWER in this tent, which means one less thing to carry around. I can get rid of the pop up shower tent.

5) Pretty inexpensive. I purchased this on Amazon.com for $300.

That's a heck of a lot cheaper than

buying a Roadtrek,

and if I decide to move forward on a larger RV,

I can include this tent in the price of the Sienna.

I'll report back once I've actually used this.

I hope this helps some of you make a decision.

Happy vanning!

Annie

Mom's House

I got a call this week from my mother.
She fell.
She cannot walk without a walker, and cannot sleep in her bed.
She's been sleeping in an easy chair for the past two weeks.
She had not changed pajamas or had a shower in all that time.

Nobody called me to tell me mom had fallen!
I'm stunned.

Apparently, she told everyone not to call me.

Turns out she was upset with me.
She completely twisted around something I said, and was upset.

I arrived Sunday evening, have talked to the neighbors and my niece, who was instructed by my mother not to call. I gave my number to both neighbors and told them mom is getting to a place where she is easily confused; sharp as a tack one minute, but confused or not understanding simple language the next. They NEED to call me if she's hurt. Hopefully, they get it!

She had not had a shower in TWO WEEKS, since she was unable to get into the shower on her own. She HAD washed, so she wasn't in too bad of shape, but sheesh, didn't anyone consider that???

Mom did have a friend take her to Urgent Care after a week and had X-rays, but nobody called her back to tell her whether or not there were broken bones. I called the Urgent Care center Monday morning and told them if my mother had been sitting at home with a broken hip for a week, somebody was going to pay! The doctor called me back that morning and assured us nothing was broken. He apologized and gave her a prescription for pain, which she had not had the entire time!!!

I got mom into the shower and some clean pajamas yesterday. I did her laundry and cleaned her house. She wasn't eating, so I picked up some Lebanese food she loves and she did eat. She seems to be a bit better today.

We're getting along much better this time around. I think being alone and hurt for 2 weeks may have made her realize she DOES need help.

I'm looking forward to getting home to Portland, but will stay here until mom is out of the walker and walking on her own.

I'm sleeping in the van. Mom likes to watch FOX news full volume, so it's much quieter and more comfortable for me to stay out in the van once she's tucked in for the night.

If you pray, please put us on your prayer list.
If you send energy, we can use some.
Thanks friends,
Annie

Saddle Mountain, Arizona - February 2018

When I arrived at Saddle Mountain, the sun was shining. I think this is one of the most beautiful places I have camped so far! I drove up the road of the BLM campground and found a spot near the mountains. Upon looking at Google Maps, the road dead ends at another road that goes in both directions up ahead. If I had 4 wheel drive, I might go further, and today I’ll take a walk to explore.

I got set up just in time, because the clouds quickly rolled in and it began raining. I snugged up in the van and finished reading The Grapes of Wrath and slept with the sound of rain on the roof.

What a life!

Now this is more like it! I counted only about 8 rigs out here. This must be a well-kept secret. Or maybe it’s just because it’s mid-week. Whatever… I’ll be back here next season for sure! It’s so quiet out here, and the beauty is just stunning.

This morning, after the rain, there was that wonderful desert-smell of creosote in the air. One of the things I love about van-dwelling is how close I live to the earth. I’m just one step away from the ground, and when I open my side door each morning, I have a beautiful view of a backyard that constantly changes.

I feel healthier and happier out here in nature. And though I’m sure there will be times I’ll want to be back in 4 walls, for now, this is a slice of heaven for me.

What a life!